Conveying device and image forming apparatus

ABSTRACT

A conveying device includes a pair of first nipping rollers configured to be movable in a width direction while nipping a recording medium and rotate to convey the recording medium; a pair of second nipping rollers configured to be movable in the width direction while nipping the recording medium and rotate to convey the recording medium, the pair of second nipping rollers being arranged on an upstream side of the first nipping rollers in a conveying path; and a detecting unit configured to detect an amount of positional deviation in the width direction of the recording medium being conveyed in the conveying path. The pair of first nipping rollers is moved in the width direction based on a detection result of the detecting unit while the pair of first nipping rollers nips the recording medium so that a positional deviation of the recording medium in the width direction is corrected.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority to and incorporates by referencethe entire contents of Japanese Patent Application No. 2012-032425 filedin Japan on Feb. 17, 2012 and Japanese Patent Application No.2012-162265 filed in Japan on Jul. 23, 2012.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a conveying device and an image formingapparatus.

2. Description of the Related Art

Conventionally known in image forming apparatuses such as copiers andprinters is a technology for correcting a deviation from a correctposition in the width direction (the direction perpendicular to aconveying direction) (hereinafter, referred to as “lateralregistration”) of a recording medium to the correct position (positionaldeviation correction) (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No.2008-50069, for example).

More specifically, according to the disclosure in Japanese PatentApplication Laid-open No. 2008-50069, to correct a longitudinalregistration and skew, a recording medium carried by a plurality ofpairs of carriage rollers along a conveying path is caused to haltagainst a stopper (abutting member). A lateral registration of therecording medium is then corrected by moving the recording medium in thewidth direction while nipping the recording medium held in contact withthe stopper between a pair of lateral registration rollers (nippingrollers) positioned on an upstream side of the stopper. Once the lateralregistration is corrected, the recording medium is further carriedtoward an image transfer unit.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2008-50069 also discloses atechnology in which a linear conveying path or a conveying path with alarge curvature radius of 50 millimeters or more is provided on anupstream side of the pair of lateral registration rollers, in order toreduce a conveying resistance of the recording medium along theconveying path on the upstream side of the pair of lateral registrationrollers, when the lateral registration is corrected.

Because the technology disclosed in Japanese Patent ApplicationLaid-open No. 2008-50069 reduces the conveying resistance of therecording medium along the conveying path on the upstream side of thepair of lateral registration rollers when the lateral registration iscorrected, the technology is expected to prevent the recording mediumfrom skewing or to prevent the lateral registration correction frombeing reduced in accuracy because of the conveying resistance,advantageously.

However, because the conveying path on the upstream side of the pairs oflateral registration rollers is linear, or is curved at a largecurvature radius of 50 millimeters or larger, the size of the entireapparatus is increased.

Therefore, there is a need to provide a conveying device and an imageforming apparatus that can correct a lateral registration highlyaccurately without any defect such as skew of a recording medium causedby a conveying resistance, and without increasing the size of theapparatus.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to at least partially solve theproblems in the conventional technology.

According to an embodiment, there is provided a conveying device forconveying a recording medium along a conveying path. The conveyingdevice includes a pair of first nipping rollers configured to be movablein a width direction while nipping the recording medium and rotate toconvey the recording medium; a pair of second nipping rollers configuredto be movable in the width direction while nipping the recording mediumand rotate to convey the recording medium, the pair of second nippingrollers being arranged on an upstream side of the first nipping rollersin the conveying path; and a detecting unit configured to detect anamount of positional deviation in the width direction of the recordingmedium being conveyed in the conveying path. The pair of first nippingrollers is moved in the width direction based on a detection result ofthe detecting unit while the pair of first nipping rollers nips therecording medium so that a positional deviation of the recording mediumin the width direction is corrected.

According to another embodiment, there is provided a conveying devicefor conveying a recording medium along a conveying path. The conveyingdevice includes a pair of first nipping rollers configured to be movablein a width direction while nipping the recording medium and rotate toconvey the recording medium; a pair of second nipping rollers configuredto be movable in the width direction while nipping the recording mediumand rotate to convey the recording medium, the pair of second nippingrollers being arranged on an upstream side of the first nipping rollersin the conveying path; and a detecting unit configured to detect anamount of positional deviation in the width direction of the recordingmedium being conveyed in the conveying path. The conveying device isswitched between a first operation and a second operation based on athickness of the recording medium. In the first operation, the pair offirst nipping rollers and the pair of second nipping rollers being movedin the width direction based on a detection result of the detecting unitwhile the pair of first nipping rollers and the pair of second nippingrollers nip the recording medium, so that a positional deviation of therecording medium in the width direction is corrected. In the secondoperation, the pair of first nipping rollers is moved in the widthdirection is moved based on the detection result of the detecting unitwhile the pair of first nipping rollers nips the recording medium andthe second nipping rollers are separated from each other, so that thepositional deviation of the recording medium in the width direction iscorrected.

According to still another embodiment, there is provided an imageforming apparatus that includes the conveying device according to anyone of the above embodiments.

The above and other objects, features, advantages and technical andindustrial significance of this invention will be better understood byreading the following detailed description of presently preferredembodiments of the invention, when considered in connection with theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic for explaining an exemplary structure of an imageforming apparatus according to embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic for explaining a structure of a conveying device;

FIG. 3 is a top view illustrating a part of the structure of theconveying device;

FIG. 4 illustrates operations performed by a conveying device accordingto a first embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 5 illustrates operations performed by a conveying device accordingto a second embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments for enabling implementations of the present invention willnow be explained in detail with reference to the drawings. In thedrawings, the same reference numerals are assigned the same parts orequivalent parts, and redundant explanations thereof are simplified oromitted as appropriate.

First Embodiment

To begin with, a structure of and an operation performed by the entireimage forming apparatus will be explained with reference to FIG. 1.

In FIG. 1, an image forming apparatus 1 according to a first embodimentof the present invention serves as a copying machine. However, the imageforming apparatus 1 may be a similar device such as a printer, afacsimile, a multifunctional peripheral (MFP) including functions of acopier, a printer, and a facsimile, and an offset printer. The imageforming apparatus 1 includes a document scanning unit 2 that opticallyreads image information of a document D; an exposing unit 3 thatirradiates a photosensitive drum 5 with exposing light L that is basedon the image information read by the document scanning unit 2; animaging unit 4 that forms a toner image (image) on the photosensitivedrum 5; a transfer unit 7 (image forming unit) that transfers the tonerimage formed on the photosensitive drum 5 onto a recording medium P; adocument feeding unit 10 that conveys the document D placed thereon intothe document scanning unit 2; and paper feeding units 12 to 14 (paperfeeding cassettes) in which recording media P (sheets) such as transferpaper are stored. The image forming apparatus 1 also includes a fixingdevice 20 that fixes an unfixed image on the recording medium P; afixing roller 21 provided to the fixing device 20; a pressing roller 22provided to the fixing device 20; a conveying device 30 that conveys arecording medium P along a conveying path; and registration rollers 45(timing rollers) for conveying the recording medium P to the transferunit 7.

An operation performed by the image forming apparatus during a normalimage formation will now be explained with reference to FIG. 1.

Carriage rollers provided to the document feeding unit 10 convey thedocument D placed on a document plate in a direction of the arrow inFIG. 1, and the document D is passed across the document scanning unit2. At this time, the document scanning unit 2 optically reads imageinformation of the document D passed across the document scanning unit2.

The optical image information read by the document scanning unit 2 isconverted into an electric signal, and the electric signal istransmitted to the exposing unit 3 (writing unit). The exposing unit 3then irradiates the photosensitive drum 5 included in the imaging unit 4with the exposing light L (laser beam) that is based on the imageinformation being the electric signal.

In the imaging unit 4, the photosensitive drum 5 is applied with givenprocesses (a charging process, an exposing process, and a developingprocess) while rotating in the clockwise direction in FIG. 1. In thismanner, an image (toner image) corresponding to the image information isformed on the photosensitive drum 5.

The transfer unit 7 serving as an image forming unit then transfers theimage formed on the photosensitive drum 5 onto a recording medium P fedby the registration rollers 45.

The recording medium P is carried into the transfer unit 7 (imageforming unit) in the manner to be described below with reference toFIGS. 1 and 2.

To begin with, one of the paper feeding units 12 to 14 provided to theimage forming image forming apparatus 1 is selected automatically ormanually (it is assumed herein that the paper feeding unit 12 providedinside of the image forming apparatus 1 is selected, as an example).

A paper feeding roller 41 then feeds the top sheet of the recordingmedia P stored in the paper feeding unit 12 into a curved conveying pathK1 in which a first registration assisting unit 52A is provided.

The recording medium P is then passed through the curved conveying pathK1 to the position of a merging point X (a point a conveying path K3from the paper feeding unit 13 merges with a conveying path K4 from thepaper feeding unit 14, both units of which are provided outside of theimage forming apparatus 1), and passed through a linear conveying pathK2 provided with a registration unit 51. The recording medium P thenreaches the position of the registration rollers 45. The recordingmedium P having reached the position of the registration rollers 45 isconveyed into the transfer unit 7 (image forming unit) at synchronizedtiming with the image formed on the photosensitive drum 5 so that therecording medium P is positioned correctly with respect to the imageformed on the photosensitive drum 5.

After passing through the position of the transfer unit 7, the recordingmedium P having applied with a transfer process reaches the fixingdevice 20 via a conveying path. The recording medium P reaching thefixing device 20 is inserted between the fixing roller 21 and thepressing roller 22, and the image on the recording medium P is fixed bythe heat applied by the fixing roller 21 and the pressure applied byboth of the members 21 and 22. The recording medium P on which the imageis fixed is sent out of the nip (nip portion) between the fixing roller21 and the pressing roller 22, and is discharged out of the imageforming image forming apparatus 1.

In this manner, a sequence of the image forming process is completed.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the image forming apparatus 1 according to thefirst embodiment has a structure enabled to feed a recording medium Pfrom the three paper feeding units 12 to 14 into the transfer unit 7(image forming unit).

More specifically, the first paper feeding unit 12 is provided in alower part of the image forming apparatus 1. The curved conveying pathK1 (curving conveying path) curving along a direction in which therecording medium P is conveyed is provided as a conveying path from thefirst paper feeding unit 12 to the merging point X. The curved conveyingpath K1 is formed by a curving conveying guide plate not illustrated(provided in a manner nipping the front and the rear surface of therecording medium P being conveyed). The curved conveying path K1 is alsoprovided with a pair of carriage rollers 42 and second nipping rollers32 (lateral registration correction assisting rollers) along theconveying direction. Each roller pair of the carriage rollers 42 and thesecond nipping rollers 32 is a roller pair having a driving roller (aroller driven in rotation by a driving mechanism not illustrated) and adriven roller (a roller driven in rotation by a frictional resistancebetween the driven roller and the driving roller), and conveys therecording medium P while nipping the recording medium P. The secondnipping rollers 32 provided to the curved conveying path K1 alsofunction as the registration assisting unit 52A (first registrationassisting unit) that aids an operation of correcting a lateralregistration, which will be explained in more detail later.

In the first embodiment, the curved conveying path K1 has a curvatureradius equal to or smaller than 50 millimeters. Therefore, the distancebetween the first paper feeding unit 12 and the merging point X (or theregistration unit 51) is reduced, and the entire image forming apparatus1 (conveying device 30) is reduced in size (to more compact).

Both of the second paper feeding unit 13 and the third paper feedingunit 14 are provided outside of the image forming apparatus 1 on oneside of the image forming apparatus 1. The conveying path from thesecond paper feeding unit 13 to the merging point X includes a curvedconveying path K3 and a linear conveying path, and is provided with apair of carriage rollers 43 and the second nipping rollers 32. Theconveying path from the third paper feeding unit 13 to the merging pointX includes a linear conveying path K4, and is provided with a pair ofcarriage rollers 44 and the second nipping rollers 32. The curvedconveying path K3 and the linear conveying path K4 are formed by acurved conveying guide plate and a linear guide plate (neither one ofwhich is illustrated), respectively. Each roller pair of the pairs ofthe carriage rollers 43, 44, and the second nipping rollers 32 are aroller pair including a driving roller and a driven roller, and conveysthe recording medium P while nipping the recording medium P. The secondnipping rollers 32 are provided at a position near the curved conveyingpath K3, on a linear conveying path provided upstream of the mergingpoint X and shared between the conveying path from the second paperfeeding unit 12 to the merging point X and the conveying path from thethird paper feeding unit 13 to the merging point X. The second nippingrollers 32 function as a registration assisting unit 52B (secondregistration assisting unit) for assisting the operation of correcting alateral registration.

In the first embodiment, the curved conveying path K3 has a curvatureradius of equal to or smaller than 50 millimeters. Therefore, thedistance between the second paper feeding unit 13 and the merging pointX (or the registration unit 51) is reduced, so that the entire imageforming apparatus 1 (conveying device 30) is reduced in size (to morecompact).

In the first embodiment, the curved conveying path K3 and the linearconveying path K4 are provided inside of the image forming apparatus 1.Alternatively, the curved conveying path K3, the linear conveying pathK4, and the two paper feeding units 13 and 14 may be structuredintegrally as a paper feeding unit (feeding device) that is removablefrom the image forming apparatus 1. Such a configuration enables theimage forming apparatus 1 itself to be further reduced in size.

The linear conveying path K2 having an approximately linear shape alongthe conveying direction of the recording medium P serves as a conveyingpath from the merging point X, which is the point where the conveyingpath from the first paper feeding unit 12 merges with the conveying pathfrom the second paper feeding unit 13 and the third paper feeding unit14, to the position of the registration rollers 45. The linear conveyingpath K2 is formed by a linear conveying guide plate (provided in amanner nipping the front and the rear surface of the recording medium Pbeing conveyed) not illustrated. Arranged along the linear conveyingpath K2 in the conveying direction are feed rollers 33, first nippingrollers 31 (lateral registration correction rollers), an abutting member34 (stopper member), a contact image sensor (CIS) 36 (detecting unit),and the registration rollers 45. Each roller pair of the feed rollers33, the first nipping rollers 31, and the registration rollers 45 is apair of rollers including a driving roller and a driven roller, andconveys the recording medium P while nipping the recording medium P.Members such as the feed rollers 33, the first nipping rollers 31, theabutting member 34, and the CIS 36 provided to the linear conveying pathK2 function also as the registration unit 51 that performs aregistration operation, e.g., a longitudinal registration correction, askew correction, and a lateral registration correction, which will beexplained more in detail later.

The conveying device 30 which characterizes the first embodiment willnow be explained in detail with reference to FIGS. 2 to 4.

Mainly explained below are elements provided along the conveying pathfrom the first paper feeding unit 12 to the registration rollers 45, andelements performed by these structures.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, along the path for conveying the recordingmedium P (the path illustrated with a thick solid line in FIG. 2)through the conveying device 30, the pair of carriage rollers 42 and thesecond nipping rollers 32 (lateral registration correction assistingrollers) are provided to the curved conveying path K1, and the feedrollers 33, the first nipping rollers 31 (lateral registrationcorrection rollers), the abutting member 34, the CIS 36 serving as adetecting unit, and the registration rollers 45 are provided to thelinear conveying path K2.

The abutting member 34 is enabled to be switched between a position forclosing the conveying path and a position for opening the conveyingpath, on the downstream side of the first nipping rollers 31 in theconveying path, at a position relatively near to the first nippingrollers 31.

More specifically, the abutting member 34 is a metal plate having anabutting surface (divided into a plurality of sections along the widthdirection in the first embodiment) which the leading end of therecording medium P halts against. Longitudinal registration of therecording medium P is corrected when the leading end of the recordingmedium P halts against the abutting member 34. Skew of the recordingmedium P is also corrected when the leading end of the recording mediumP halts against the abutting member 34. The abutting member 34 isenabled to open and to close the path for conveying the recording mediumP. Specifically, the abutting member 34 closes the conveying path bybeing caused to move up in FIG. 2 to, or opens the conveying path bybeing caused to move down in FIG. 2 at given timing, driven by a cammechanism (not illustrated) that is engaged with the abutting member 34.

The feed rollers 33 are provided at a position on an upstream side ofthe first nipping rollers 31 (upstream side in the conveying direction)and between the second nipping rollers 32 and the first nipping rollers31. The feed rollers 33 are a pair of carriage rollers enabled to conveythe recording medium P by being rotated while nipping the recordingmedium P, and enabled to be separated from each other so as to beswitched between a position at which the recording medium P is nippedand another position at which the recording medium P is released. Whenthe feed rollers 33 conveys the recording medium P by nipping therecording medium P and causes the leading end of the recording medium Pto halt against the abutting member 34, conveying time (driving time) iscontrolled so that the recording medium P is slightly warped (bufferingportion corresponding to the part surrounded by a dotted line in (A) ofFIG. 4) between the feed rollers 33 and the abutting member 34.

The first nipping rollers 31 are a pair of rollers each divided into aplurality of sub-rollers in the width direction, and arranged on anupstream side of the abutting member 34 in the conveying direction ofthe recording medium P. The first nipping rollers 31 are enabled to meeteach other and to be separated from each other, and to move in the widthdirection (in the directions of the arrow S illustrated in a dotted linein FIG. 3) by a driving mechanism not illustrated. In other words, thefirst nipping rollers 31 are enabled to be separated from each other soas to be switched between a position at which the recording medium P isnipped and another position at which the recording medium P is released,and to convey the recording medium P by being rotated. The first nippingrollers 31 correct a lateral registration of the recording medium P bynipping the recording medium P that is in contact with the abuttingmember 34, and then by being caused to move in the width direction. Inother words, the first nipping rollers 31 are enabled to move in thewidth direction while nipping the recording medium P, and function as alateral registration correcting unit that corrects a positionaldeviation of the recording medium P, being conveyed along the conveyingpath, in the width direction by displacing the recording medium P in thewidth direction.

The registration rollers 45 are a pair of carriage rollers arranged onthe downstream side of the first nipping rollers 31 and the abuttingmember 34 in the conveying path (downstream side in the conveyingdirection), and enabled to convey the recording medium P by beingrotated while nipping the recording medium. The recording medium Phaving its lateral registration corrected by the first nipping rollers31 is conveyed to a position of the registration rollers 45. Once aphotosensor (not illustrated, arranged between the registration rollers45 and the image forming unit) detects the recording medium P nippedbetween the registration rollers 45, the registration rollers 45 stopcarrying the recording medium P. The registration rollers 45 then startsbeing driven in rotation again so that the recording medium is conveyedinto image forming unit at such an adjusted timing that is synchronizedwith the image formed on the photosensitive drum 5.

The CIS 36 serving as a detecting unit is arranged on the downstreamside of the first nipping rollers 31 along the conveying path, and onthe upstream side of the registration rollers 45 along the conveyingpath. The CIS 36 includes a plurality of photosensors (each including alight emitting element such as a light emitting diode (LED) and a lightreceiving element such as a photodiode) arranged in parallel in thewidth direction, and detects a positional deviation amount of lateralregistration by detecting a side edge (edge portion) Pa on one side ofthe recording medium P in the width direction. In other words, the CIS36 (detecting unit) detects, in the conveying path of the conveyingdevice 30, a positional deviation amount in the width direction of therecording medium P being conveyed. Based on a detection result of theCIS 36, the first nipping rollers 31 corrects the lateral registration(or the first nipping rollers 31 and the second nipping rollers 32correct the lateral registration).

In the first embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the CIS 36 isprovided only on one side in the width direction to detect the positionof the side edge Pa of the recording medium P in the width direction.Alternatively, the CIS 36 may be provided across the entire widthdirection to detect the positions of both side edges of the recordingmedium P in the width direction.

The second nipping rollers 32 (the first registration assisting unit52A) and the pair of carriage rollers 42 are provided on the midwayalong the curved conveying path K1 (curve).

The second nipping rollers 32 are provided at a position on the upstreamside of the first nipping rollers 31 in the conveying path, and at aposition sufficiently separated from the first nipping rollers 31. Thesecond nipping rollers 32 are enabled to meet each other and to beremoved from each other by a driving mechanism not illustrated, and tomove in the width direction (the direction perpendicular to the papersurface in FIG. 2). In other words, the second nipping rollers 32 areenabled to be separable from each other and switchable between aposition at which the recording medium P is nipped and at which therecording medium P is released, and to convey the recording medium P bybeing rotated, in the same manner as the first nipping rollers 31. Undera given condition, the second nipping rollers 32 move together with thefirst nipping rollers 31 in the width direction while nipping therecording medium P to correct the lateral registration of the recordingmedium P. In other words, the second nipping rollers 32 are configuredto be movable in the width direction while nipping the recording mediumP, and function as a lateral registration correction assisting unit forcorrecting positional deviation of the recording medium P in the widthdirection under a given condition, by displacing the recording medium Pbeing conveyed along the conveying path in the width direction.

The pair of carriage rollers 42 are provided at a position on theupstream side of the second nipping rollers, and is enabled to beseparated from each other so as to be switched between a position atwhich position the recording medium P is nipped and another position atwhich the recording medium P is released.

The conveying device 30 is provided with a plurality of driving motors(driving mechanisms) so that some of the roller pairs 31 to 33, 42 to 45can be driven in rotation independently (various driving rotations whichwill be explained later with reference to FIG. 4).

The conveying device 30 having the structure described above corrects awidth-direction positional deviation (lateral registration) of therecording medium P being conveyed along the conveying path, by movingthe first nipping rollers 31 and the second nipping rollers 32 in thewidth direction based on the detection result of the CIS 36 (detectingunit), while the recording medium P is nipped between the first nippingrollers 31 and the second nipping rollers 32.

To explain using a specific example referring to FIG. 3, when the CIS 36detects a positional deviation of the recording medium P by a distance αtoward right in FIG. 3 from a reference position (correct positionwithout any positional deviation) indicated by a long dashed shortdashed line, a controlling unit moves the first nipping rollers 31 andthe second nipping rollers 32 by the distance α to left in FIG. 3, usingthe positional deviation amount α as an amount to be corrected, whilethe recording medium P is nipped between the first nipping rollers 31and the second nipping rollers 32.

When a recording medium P being conveyed is longer than the distance ofthe conveying path from the second nipping rollers 32 to the firstnipping rollers 31 (for example, a long sheet having a size equal to orlonger than 900 millimeters in the conveying direction), the lateralregistration is corrected by nipping the recording medium P between thefirst nipping rollers 31 and the second nipping rollers 32 in the mannerdescribed above.

In the first embodiment, when that being conveyed is a recording mediumP having a length in the conveying direction being shorter than thedistance of the conveying path from the second nipping rollers 32 to thefirst nipping rollers 31 (for example, a sheet with an A4 lateral sizein the conveying direction), a width-direction positional deviation ofthe recording medium P being conveyed along the conveying path iscorrected, by moving the first nipping rollers 31 in the width directionbased on the detection result of the CIS 36 (detecting unit), while therecording medium P is nipped solely by the first nipping rollers 31.

When a lateral registration of a recording medium P is corrected in animage forming apparatus 1 (the conveying device 30) that is reduced insize by being provided with a curved conveying path K1 with a curvatureradius of equal to or smaller than 50 millimeters, such a structure andsuch operations can reduce a resistance (conveying resistance) caused bythe recording medium P sliding along the curved conveying path K1 whilemoving in the width direction, even when the trailing end of therecording medium P is positioned in the curved conveying path K1,because the recording medium P is moved in the width direction while aposition near the leading end of the recording medium P is nippedbetween the first nipping rollers 31 and a position near the trailingend (or a position sufficiently distant from the leading end) of therecording medium P is nipped between the second nipping rollers 32.Therefore, the recording medium is rarely carried diagonally (skewed),twisted, or wrinkled by the conveying resistance, and a lateralregistration correction can be performed highly accurately. The force atwhich the recording medium P is nipped (nipping force) between the twopairs of nipping rollers 31 and 32 are set sufficiently larger than theconveying resistance caused by the recording medium P sliding along thecurved conveying path K1.

When a recording medium P being conveyed is shorter than the distance ofthe conveying path from the second nipping rollers 32 to the firstnipping rollers 31, the lateral registration is corrected in the linearconveying path K2 where the conveying resistance to the recording mediumP is small, without interfering the curved conveying path K1 with therecording medium P. Therefore, the lateral registration can be correctedhighly accurately without causing any skew, twists, or wrinkles.

Such controls for correcting a lateral registration are switched basedon the size of the recording medium P along the conveying direction.Such switching is performed based on information of the size of arecording medium P that is input to the controlling unit. The inputinformation may be based on information detected by a size sensordirectly detecting the size of the recording medium P in the paperfeeding unit 12 or in the conveying path from the paper feeding unit 12to the registration unit 51, or based on information about the recordingmedium P input via an operation panel (not illustrated) by a user.

Explained so far is an example in which the recording medium P is fedfrom the first paper feeding unit 12. In a case in which the recordingmedium P is fed from the second paper feeding unit 13 or from the thirdpaper feeding unit 14 as well, when a recording medium P being conveyedis long in the conveying direction, the lateral registration iscorrected by nipping the recording medium P between the first nippingrollers 31 and the second nipping rollers 32.

When the recording medium P is fed from the second paper feeding unit 13in particular, because the recording medium P is conveyed along thecurved conveying path K3 with a curvature radius of equal to or smallerthan 50 millimeters, the same advantageous effect explained above can beachieved.

When the recording medium P is fed from the third paper feeding unit 14,although the conveying resistance to the recording medium P is not verylarge to begin with, because the recording medium P is conveyed alongthe linear conveying path K4, skew, twists, and wrinkles can beprevented more reliably. Furthermore, because the registration assistingunit 52B (the second nipping rollers 32) is shared between the conveyingpath from the paper feeding unit 13 and the conveying path from thepaper feeding unit 14, costs and the size of the entire apparatus can bereduced.

In the image forming apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment, whenevery size of acceptable recording media P in the conveying direction islonger than the distance of the conveying path from the second nippingrollers 32 to the first nipping rollers 31, the lateral registrationcorrection is always performed by nipping the recording medium P betweenthe first nipping rollers 31 and the second nipping rollers 32.

In the first embodiment, when the lateral registration is corrected bynipping the recording medium P between the first nipping rollers 31 andthe second nipping rollers 32 (or when the lateral registration iscorrected by nipping the recording medium P solely by the first nippingrollers 31) in the manner described above, other pairs of carriagerollers facing the recording medium P (pairs of carriage rollers notconfigured movable in the width direction, such as the feed rollers 33and the pair of carriage rollers 42) are separated from each other so asnot to nip the recording medium P.

In this manner, the lateral registration correction explained above isperformed reliably.

Furthermore, in the first embodiment, before the lateral registration iscorrected by nipping the recording medium P between the first nippingrollers 31 and the second nipping rollers 32 (or before the lateralregistration is corrected by nipping the recording medium P solely bythe first nipping rollers 31), the abutting member 34 is moved to closethe conveying path while the first nipping rollers 31 are separated fromeach other so as not to nip the recording medium P, and the leading endof the recording medium P is allowed to halt against the abutting member34. In this manner, a longitudinal registration (a positional deviationin the conveying direction) and skew (a positional deviation in adirection diagonal to the conveying direction) of the recording medium Pare corrected.

In this manner, a longitudinal registration and skew are correctedreliably before the lateral registration is corrected, without beinginterrupted by the first nipping rollers 31.

Furthermore, in the first embodiment, the CIS 36 (detecting unit)detects a width-direction positional deviation amount of the recordingmedium P while the first nipping rollers 31 and the second nippingrollers 32 are rotating and carrying the recording medium P, and thelateral registration of the recording medium P is corrected based on thedetection result of the CIS 36.

In other words, when the lateral registration is corrected by nippingthe recording medium P between the first nipping rollers 31 and thesecond nipping rollers 32, the lateral registration is corrected whilethe recording medium P is carried by the first nipping rollers 31 andthe second nipping rollers 32 driven in rotation. Furthermore, when thelateral registration is corrected by nipping the recording medium Psolely by the first nipping rollers 31, the lateral registration iscorrected while the recording medium P is carried by the first nippingrollers 31 driven in rotation.

In this manner, a lateral registration of the recording medium P can becorrected without reducing productivity of the apparatus, compared withwhen the lateral registration is corrected after the first nippingrollers 31 and the second nipping rollers 32 are stopped being driven inrotation.

Furthermore, in the first embodiment, once the recording medium P havinglateral registration corrected is nipped between the registrationrollers 45 (pair of carriage rollers), the first nipping rollers 31 areseparated from each other so as to release the recording medium P.

In this manner, the registration rollers 45 can convey the recordingmedium P to the image forming unit reliably, and the registration unit51 can prepare for an operation to be applied to the next recordingmedium P fed into the registration unit 51 promptly.

An example of an operation performed by the conveying device 30 havingthe structure described above will now be explained in detail withreference to FIG. 4.

The operation of the conveying device 30 to be described below isperformed when a recording medium P being conveyed is longer than thedistance of the conveying path from the second nipping rollers 32 to thefirst nipping rollers 31.

To begin with, the recording medium P fed from the paper feeding unit 12is nipped between and carried by the pairs of rollers 42, 32, and 33.The leading end of the recording medium P is then passed along thecurved conveying path K1, and reaches the position of the abuttingmember 34 in the linear conveying path K2 (the operation of conveyingthe recording medium P in the direction of the arrow in a dotted line).At this time, the first nipping rollers 31 are moved to separate fromeach other, in the direction in which the conveying path is opened (inthe directions of the arrows in solid line). The abutting member 34 ismoved in a direction in which the conveying path is closed (thedirection of the white arrow; upwardly).

The leading end of the recording medium P is then brought into contactwith the abutting member 34, causing the recording medium P to stop, asillustrated in (A) of FIG. 4. At this time, the feed rollers 33 areoverrun to cause the recording medium to warp by a given degree (abuffering portion corresponding to the part surrounded by a dotted linein (A) of FIG. 4) between the feed rollers 33 and the abutting member34.

In this manner, the longitudinal registration of the recording medium Pis corrected. Once the positional deviation of the recording medium P inthe conveying direction is corrected, the first nipping rollers 31 aredriven in rotation, and the recording medium P is carried toward theregistration rollers 45.

Because the leading end of the recording medium P halts against theabutting member 34, skew of the recording medium P is also corrected. Inother words, even when the recording medium P is conveyed diagonally tothe conveying direction (the recording medium P is skewed), one side ofthe leading end at first halts against the abutting member 34, and theother end then halts against the abutting member 34 about the one side.In this manner, skew of the recording medium P is corrected eventually.

After the longitudinal registration and the skew are corrected bycausing the leading end of the recording medium P to halt against theabutting member 34, the recording medium P is nipped and carried by thefirst nipping rollers 31 and the second nipping rollers 32, asillustrated in (B) of FIG. 4. At this time, the abutting member 34 ismoved in the direction in which the conveying path is opened (thedirection of the white arrow; downwardly). Each of the feed rollers 33and the pair of carriage rollers 42 are moved to separate from eachother, in the directions in which the conveying path is opened and therecording medium P is released (the direction of the arrows in solidline). The first nipping rollers 31 and the second nipping rollers 32are then moved in directions in which the conveying path is closed andin which the recording medium P is nipped (the directions of the arrowsin solid line), and start being rotated in the direction of the arrows.

The recording medium P is then nipped and carried by the first nippingrollers 31 and the second nipping rollers 32, and the leading end of therecording medium P reaches the position of the CIS 36. The CIS 36detects a positional deviation amount a of lateral registration at thatposition. The first nipping rollers 31 and the second nipping rollers 32are then moved in the width direction (a direction perpendicular to thepaper surface (S direction)) synchronously, based on the detectionresult of the CIS 36. In other words, the CIS 36 detects an amount oflateral registration of the recording medium P, and both of the nippingrollers 31 and 32 are moved in the width direction synchronously (movedin the same direction and by the same moving amount) so as to cancel outthe positional deviation amount by that amount. In this manner, therecording medium P is carried toward the registration rollers 45 whilethe lateral registration is being corrected.

The recording medium P having its lateral registration corrected is thennipped between the registration rollers 45 at their leading ends, andstops temporarily, as illustrated in (C) of FIG. 4. At this time, thefirst nipping rollers 31 (or the first nipping rollers 31 and otherpairs of rollers) having nipped and carried the recording medium P aremoved away from each other in the directions in which the recordingmedium P is released (the direction of the arrows in solid line), andthe conveying path is opened.

The registration rollers 45 then start being driven in rotation in amanner synchronized with the image on the photosensitive drum 5, causingthe recording medium P to be carried toward the transfer unit 7 (imagetransfer unit). As a result, the image is transferred onto a desiredposition on the recording medium P.

The conveying device 30 having the structure and operating in the mannerdescribed above may be configured to move the second nipping rollers 32in the width direction based on the detection result of the CIS 36(detecting unit) at a lower precision than the precision at which thefirst nipping rollers 31 are moved in the width direction based on thedetection result of the CIS 36. In other words, the conveying device 30may be configured to allow the first nipping rollers 31 to perform thelateral registration correction at a higher precision than thatperformed by the second nipping rollers 32.

This is because, when the lateral registration of the recording medium Pis corrected by nipping the recording medium P between the first nippingrollers 31 and the second nipping rollers 32 in the manner describedabove, while the entire precision is largely affected by the precisionof the lateral registration correction achieved by the first nippingrollers 31, the lateral registration correction achieved by the secondnipping rollers 32 is subsidiary and does not require the same level ofcorrective precision.

Such a configuration enables a less expensive motor to be used as adriving motor provided to the mechanism for moving the second nippingrollers 32 in the width direction, for example, so that costs of theentire apparatus can be reduced.

As explained above, in the first embodiment, the second nipping rollers32 are provided on the upstream side of the first nipping rollers 31,and a lateral registration is corrected by moving the first nippingrollers 31 and the second nipping rollers 32 in the width directionbased on a lateral positional deviation amount detected by the CIS 36(detecting unit), while the recording medium P is nipped between thefirst nipping rollers 31 and the second nipping rollers 32. In thismanner, a lateral registration can be corrected highly accuratelywithout causing any defect such as skew of the recording medium P causedby a conveying resistance, and without increasing the size of theapparatus.

Second Embodiment

An exemplary operation of the conveying device that is different fromthat according to the first embodiment will now be explained. Becausethe structures of the image forming apparatus and the conveying deviceare the same as those according to the first embodiment, the samereference numerals are assigned, and redundant explanations thereof areomitted hereunder. An operation performed by a conveying deviceaccording to a second embodiment of the present invention will now beexplained.

In the second embodiment, the conveying device is controlled to beswitched, depending on the thickness of a recording medium P beingconveyed (thickness of the sheet), between an operation for correcting awidth-direction positional deviation of the recording medium P by movingthe first nipping rollers 31 and the second nipping rollers 32 in thewidth direction based on the detection result of the CIS 36 (detectingunit) while the recording medium P is nipped between the first nippingrollers 31 and the second nipping rollers 32, and an operation forcorrecting a width-direction positional deviation of the recordingmedium P by moving the first nipping rollers 31 in the width directionbased on the detection result of the CIS 36 while the recording medium Pis nipped between the first nipping rollers 31 and while the secondnipping rollers 32 are separated from each other (while the recordingmedium P is nipped solely by the first nipping rollers 31) even when arecording medium P being conveyed is longer than the distance of theconveying path from the second nipping rollers 32 to the first nippingrollers 31 (for example, a long sheet having a size of 900 millimetersor more in the conveying direction).

More specifically, when the recording medium P being conveyed is thickerthan a predetermined thickness (for example, when passed is a recordingmedium P having a basis weight of more than 64 g/m²), the conveyingdevice performs the operation for correcting a width-directionpositional deviation of the recording medium P by moving the firstnipping rollers 31 and the second nipping rollers 32 in the widthdirection based on the detection result of the CIS 36, while therecording medium P is nipped between the first nipping rollers 31 andthe second nipping rollers 32. By contrast, when the thickness of therecording medium P being conveyed is equal to or less than thepredetermined thickness (for example, when passed is a thin sheet(recording medium P) having a basis weight equal to or less than 64g/m²), the conveying device performs the operation for correcting awidth-direction positional deviation of the recording medium P by movingthe first nipping rollers 31 in the width direction based on thedetection result of the CIS 36, while the recording medium P is nippedbetween the first nipping rollers 31 and while the second nippingrollers 32 are separated from each other (while the recording medium Pis nipped solely by the first nipping rollers 31), (at this time, thesecond nipping rollers 32 are separated).

When the recording medium P being conveyed is a thin sheet, the lateralregistration is corrected solely by the first nipping rollers 31,instead of using both of the nipping rollers 31 and 32, because, if alateral registration is corrected by nipping the leading end and thetrailing end of a recording medium P (thin sheet) being thin and weak bythe nipping rollers 31 and 32, the recording medium P might get twisted,and might result in a wrinkle or a streak. Furthermore, because only asmall resistance (conveying resistance) is produced by a thin and weakrecording medium P (thin sheet) to begin with when the recording mediumP is slid along the curved conveying path K1 and defects, such as skew,rarely occur, and the lateral registration can be corrected highlyaccurately even when the lateral registration is corrected using onlythe first nipping rollers 31.

The control of switching the lateral registration correction dependingon the thickness of the recording medium P (thickness of the sheet) isperformed based on information related to the thickness of the recordingmedium P that is input to the controlling unit. The input informationmay be based on information detected by a thickness sensor directlydetecting the thickness of the recording medium P in the conveying pathfrom the paper feeding unit 12 or from the paper feeding unit 12 to theregistration unit 51, or based on information about the recording mediumP input via an operation panel (not illustrated) by a user.

When a recording medium P being conveyed is shorter than the distance ofthe conveying path from the second nipping rollers 32 to the firstnipping rollers 31, a lateral registration correction is performed usingonly the first nipping rollers 31, in the manner described above,regardless of the thickness of the recording medium P.

Explained so far is an example in which the recording medium P is fedfrom the first paper feeding unit 12. In a case in which the recordingmedium P is fed from the second paper feeding unit 13 or from the thirdpaper feeding unit 14 as well, when a recording medium P being conveyedis long in the conveying direction and is not a thin sheet, the lateralregistration is corrected by nipping the recording medium P between thefirst nipping rollers 31 and the second nipping rollers 32.

When the recording medium P is fed from the second paper feeding unit 13in particular, because the recording medium P is conveyed along thecurved conveying path K3 with a curvature radius of equal to or smallerthan 50 millimeters, the same advantageous effect explained above can beachieved.

When the recording medium P is fed from the third paper feeding unit 14,because the recording medium P is conveyed through the linear conveyingpath K4, the conveying resistance imposed on the recording medium P isnot very large to begin with. Therefore, the recording medium P israrely skewed, twisted, or wrinkled.

In the image forming apparatus 1 according to the second embodiment,when every size of the acceptable recording medium P in the conveyingdirection is longer than the distance of the conveying path from thesecond nipping rollers 32 to the first nipping rollers 31, the conveyingdevice is switched between the operation for correcting the lateralregistration by nipping the recording medium P between the first nippingrollers 31 and the second nipping rollers 32, and the operation forcorrecting the lateral registration by nipping the recording medium Psolely by the first nipping rollers 31, based on the thickness of therecording medium P, regardless of the size of the recording medium P.

In the second embodiment, when the lateral registration is corrected bynipping the recording medium P between the first nipping rollers 31 andthe second nipping rollers 32 (or when the lateral registration iscorrected by nipping the recording medium P solely by the first nippingrollers 31) in the manner described above, other pairs of carriagerollers facing the recording medium P (pairs of carriage rollers notconfigured movable in the width direction, such as the feed rollers 33and the pair of carriage rollers 42) are separated from each other so asnot to nip the recording medium P. When a recording medium P beingconveyed is a thin sheet that is long in the conveying direction, thesecond nipping rollers 32 are also separated from each other so as notto nip the recording medium P.

In this manner, the lateral registration correction explained above isperformed reliably.

Furthermore, in the second embodiment, before the lateral registrationis corrected by nipping the recording medium P between the first nippingrollers 31 and the second nipping rollers 32 (or before the lateralregistration is corrected by nipping the recording medium P solely bythe first nipping rollers 31), the abutting member 34 is moved so thatthe conveying path is closed while the first nipping rollers 31 areseparated from each other so as not to nip the recording medium P. Theleading end of the recording medium P is then caused to halt against theabutting member 34. In this manner, a longitudinal registration (apositional deviation in the conveying direction) and skew (a positionaldeviation in a direction diagonal with respect to the conveyingdirection) of the recording medium P are corrected.

In this manner, a longitudinal registration and skew are correctedreliably before the lateral registration is corrected, without beinginterrupted by the first nipping rollers 31.

Furthermore, in the second embodiment, the CIS 36 (detecting unit)detects a width-direction positional deviation amount of the recordingmedium P while the first nipping rollers 31 and the second nippingrollers 32 are rotating and carrying the recording medium P, and thelateral registration of the recording medium P is corrected based on thedetection result of the CIS 36.

In other words, when the lateral registration is corrected by nippingthe recording medium P between the first nipping rollers 31 and thesecond nipping rollers 32, the lateral registration is corrected whilethe recording medium P is carried by the first nipping rollers 31 andthe second nipping rollers 32 that are driven in rotation. Furthermore,when the lateral registration is corrected by nipping the recordingmedium P solely by the first nipping rollers 31, the lateralregistration is corrected while the recording medium P is carried by thefirst nipping rollers 31 driven in rotation.

In this manner, the lateral registration of the recording medium P canbe corrected without reducing productivity of the apparatus, comparedwith when the lateral registration is corrected after the first nippingrollers 31 and the second nipping rollers 32 are stopped being driven inrotation.

Furthermore, in the second embodiment, once the recording medium Phaving its lateral registration corrected is nipped by the registrationrollers 45, the first nipping rollers 31 are separated from each otherso that the first nipping rollers 31 is kept away from the recordingmedium P.

In this manner, the pair of registration rollers 45 can convey therecording medium P into the image forming unit reliably, and theregistration unit 51 can prepare for an operation to be applied to thenext recording medium P fed into the registration unit 51 promptly.

An example of an operation performed by the conveying device 30 will nowbe explained in detail with reference to FIG. 5.

The operation of the conveying device 30 to be described below isperformed when a recording medium P being conveyed is longer than thedistance of the conveying path from the second nipping rollers 32 to thefirst nipping rollers 31, and is a recording medium P (thin sheet)having a thickness equal to or less than a predetermined thickness.

To begin with, the recording medium P fed from the paper feeding unit 12is nipped between and carried by the pairs of rollers (the pair ofcarriage rollers 42, the second nipping rollers 32, the feed rollers33). The leading end of the recording medium P is then passed along thecurved conveying path K1, and reaches the position of the abuttingmember 34 in the linear conveying path K2 (the operation of conveyingthe recording medium P in the direction of the arrow in a dotted line).At this time, the first nipping rollers 31 are moved to separate fromeach other, in the direction in which the conveying path is opened (inthe directions of the arrows in solid line). The abutting member 34 ismoved in the direction in which the conveying path is closed (thedirection of the white arrow; upwardly).

The leading end of the recording medium P is then brought into contactwith the abutting member 34, causing the recording medium P to stop, asillustrated in (A) of FIG. 5. At this time, the feed rollers 33 areoverrun to cause the recording medium to warp by a given degree (abuffering portion corresponding to the part surrounded by the dottedline in (A) of FIG. 5) between the feed rollers 33 and the abuttingmember 34.

In this manner, the longitudinal registration of the recording medium Pis corrected. Once the positional deviation of the recording medium P inthe conveying direction is corrected, the first nipping rollers 31 aredriven in rotation, and the recording medium P is carried toward theregistration rollers 45.

Because the leading end of the recording medium P halts against theabutting member 34, skew of the recording medium P is also corrected. Inother words, even when the recording medium P is conveyed diagonally tothe conveying direction (the recording medium P is skewed), one side ofthe leading end is at first caused to halt against the abutting member34, and the other end is then caused to halt against the abutting member34 about the one side. In this manner, skew of the recording medium P iscorrected eventually.

After the longitudinal registration and the skew are corrected bycausing the leading end of the recording medium P to halt against theabutting member 34, the recording medium P having its longitudinalregistration and skew corrected is nipped and carried solely by thefirst nipping rollers 31, as illustrated in (B) of FIG. 5. At this time,the abutting member 34 is moved in the direction in which the conveyingpath is opened (the direction of the white arrow; downwardly). The feedrollers 33, the pair of carriage rollers 42, and the second nippingrollers 32 are moved to separate from each other in the directions inwhich the conveying path is opened and the rollers are removed from therecording medium P (the direction of the arrows in solid line). Thefirst nipping rollers 31 are then moved in directions in which theconveying path is closed and the recording medium P is nipped (thedirection of the arrows in solid line), and start being rotated in thedirection of the arrows.

The recording medium P is then nipped and carried by the first nippingrollers 31, and the leading end of the recording medium P reaches theposition of the CIS 36. The CIS 36 detects a lateral positionaldeviation amount α at that position. The first nipping rollers 31 arethen moved in the width direction (a direction perpendicular to thepaper surface (S direction)), based on the detection result of the CIS36. In other words, the CIS 36 detects an amount of the lateralregistration of the recording medium P, and the first nipping rollers 31are moved in the width direction so as to cancel out the error by thatamount. In this manner, the recording medium P (thin sheet) is carriedtoward the registration rollers 45 while the lateral registration isbeing corrected.

The leading end of the recording medium P having its lateralregistration corrected is then nipped between the registration rollers45, and stops temporarily, as illustrated in (C) of FIG. 5. At thistime, the first nipping rollers 31 (or the first nipping rollers 31 andother pairs of rollers) nipping and carrying the recording medium P aremoved away from each other in the directions in which the recordingmedium P is released (the direction of the arrows in solid line), andthe conveying path is opened.

The registration rollers 45 then start being driven in rotation in amanner synchronized with the image on the photosensitive drum 5, causingthe recording medium P to be carried toward the transfer unit 7 (imagetransfer unit). As a result, the image is transferred onto a desiredposition on the recording medium P.

As explained above, in the second embodiment, the second nipping rollers32 are provided on the upstream side of the first nipping rollers 31,and, depending on the thickness of the recording medium P beingconveyed, the conveying device is switched between an operation forcorrecting a lateral registration by moving the first nipping rollers 31and the second nipping rollers 32 in the width direction based on thelateral positional deviation amount detected by the CIS 36 (detectingunit) while the recording medium P is nipped between the first nippingrollers 31 and the second nipping rollers 32, and an operation forcorrecting a lateral registration by moving the first nipping rollers 31in the width direction based on the lateral positional deviation amountdetected by the CIS 36 while the recording medium P is nipped betweenthe first nipping rollers 31 and the second nipping rollers 32 areseparated from each other. In this manner, a lateral registration can becorrected highly accurately regardless of the thickness of the recordingmedium P being conveyed, without causing any defect such as skew of therecording medium P caused by a conveying resistance, and withoutincreasing the size of the apparatus.

In the first and the second embodiments explained above, the presentinvention is applied to a conveying device 30 provided to amonochromatic image forming apparatus 1, but may also be applied to aconveying device provided to a color image forming apparatus.

Furthermore, in the embodiments, the present invention is applied to aconveying device 30 provided to an electrophotographic image formingapparatus 1, but an application of the present invention is not limitedthereto, and the present invention may be applied to any conveyingdevice that performs a lateral registration correction, including thoseprovided to other types of image forming apparatuses (such as inkjetimage forming apparatuses and offset printers).

In such configurations as well, the same advantageous effects achievedin the embodiments can be achieved.

Furthermore, in the embodiments, the present invention is applied to aconveying device 30 arranged at a position on the upstream side of theregistration rollers 45 in the conveying direction, but an applicationof the present invention is not limited thereto, and the presentinvention may be applied to a conveying device arranged at any otherpositions, as long as the conveying device performs a lateralregistration correction.

Furthermore, in the embodiments, the present invention is applied to aconveying device 30 in which the two conveying paths merge at themerging point X. However, the present invention may also be applied aconveying device in which three or more conveying paths merge at themerging point X, or to a conveying device including only one conveyingpath without the merging point X.

In such configurations as well, the same advantageous effects achievedin the embodiments can be achieved.

Furthermore, in the embodiments, the conveying device 30 is providedwith eight pairs of rollers 31 to 33, 42 to 45, but may also be providedwith more pairs of rollers, or with less pairs of rollers. In suchconfigurations, at least two pairs of a plurality of pairs of rollersserve as the first nipping rollers 31 and the second nipping rollers 32.Furthermore, the conveying device 30 may perform operations that aredifferent from those performed by the conveying device 30 and explainedwith reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, depending on the condition of therecording medium P conveyed along the conveying path (e.g., the secondnipping rollers 32 may be caused to be separated from each other, orvarious pairs of rollers may be brought into contact or separated fromeach other at different timing).

In such configurations as well, the same advantageous effects achievedin the embodiments can be achieved.

The “width direction” herein is defined as a direction perpendicular tothe direction in which the recording medium is conveyed.

According to the embodiments, the second nipping rollers are provided onthe upstream side of the first nipping rollers, and a lateralregistration is corrected by moving first nipping rollers the secondnipping rollers in the width direction based on the positional deviationamount of lateral registration detected by the detecting unit, while therecording medium is nipped between the first nipping rollers and thesecond nipping rollers. Therefore, it is possible to provide a conveyingdevice and an image forming apparatus that can correct a lateralregistration highly accurately without any defect such as skew of arecording medium caused by a conveying resistance, as well as withoutincreasing the size of the apparatus, advantageously.

Although the invention has been described with respect to specificembodiments for a complete and clear disclosure, the appended claims arenot to be thus limited but are to be construed as embodying allmodifications and alternative constructions that may occur to oneskilled in the art that fairly fall within the basic teaching herein setforth.

What is claimed is:
 1. A conveying device for conveying a recordingmedium along a conveying path, the conveying device comprising: a pairof first nipping rollers configured to be movable in a width directionwhile nipping the recording medium, and rotate to convey the recordingmedium; a pair of second nipping rollers configured to be movable in thewidth direction while nipping the recording medium, and rotate to conveythe recording medium, the pair of second nipping rollers being arrangedon an upstream side of the first nipping rollers in the conveying path;and a detecting unit configured to detect an amount of positionaldeviation in the width direction of the recording medium being conveyedin the conveying path, wherein the pair of first nipping rollers ismoved in the width direction based on a detection result of thedetecting unit while the pair of first nipping rollers nips therecording medium so that a positional deviation of the recording mediumin the width direction is corrected.
 2. The conveying device accordingto claim 1, wherein if the recording medium is longer than a distance inthe conveying path between the pair of second nipping rollers and thepair of first nipping rollers, the pair of first nipping rollers and thepair of second nipping rollers are moved in the width direction based onthe detection result of the detecting unit while each of the pair offirst nipping rollers and the pair of second nipping rollers nips therecording medium, so that the positional deviation of the recordingmedium in the width direction is corrected, and if the recording mediumis shorter than the distance, the pair of first nipping rollers is movedin the width direction based on the detection result of the detectingunit while the pair of first nipping rollers nips the recording mediumand the pair of second nipping rollers does not nip the recordingmedium, so that the positional deviation of the recording medium in thewidth direction is corrected.
 3. The conveying device according to claim1, further comprising: a pair of carriage rollers configured to rotateto convey the recording medium while nipping the recording medium, andbe separable from each other so that a state of the pair of carriagerollers is switched between a state of nipping the recording medium anda state of not nipping the recording medium, the pair of carriagerollers being arranged in at least one of a position on an upstream sideof the pair of second nipping rollers, a position between the pair ofsecond nipping rollers and the pair of first nipping rollers, and aposition on a downstream side of the pair of first nipping rollers,wherein the carriage rollers are separated from each other not to nipthe recording medium when the positional deviation of the recordingmedium in the width direction is corrected.
 4. The conveying deviceaccording to claim 1, further comprising: an abutting member configuredto be movable so that a state of the abutting member is switched betweena state in which the conveying path is closed and a state in which theconveying path is opened in a position near the pair of first nippingrollers on a downstream side of the pair of first nipping rollers in theconveying path, wherein the first nipping rollers are separable fromeach other so that a state of the pair of first nipping rollers isswitched between a state of nipping the recording medium and a state ofnot nipping the recording medium, and before the positional deviation ofthe recording medium in the width direction is corrected, the abuttingmember is moved to close the conveying path while the first nippingrollers are separated from each other not to nip the recording medium,to cause a leading end of the recording medium to halt against theabutting member so that at least one of a positional deviation of therecording medium in a conveying direction and a positional deviation ofthe recording medium diagonal with respect to the conveying direction iscorrected.
 5. The conveying device according to claim 1, wherein thedetecting unit is arranged on a downstream side of the pair of firstnipping rollers in the conveying path, and the detecting unit detectsthe amount of positional deviation in the width direction of therecording medium while the pair of first nipping rollers and the pair ofsecond nipping rollers are being rotated to convey the recording medium,so that the positional deviation of the recording medium in the widthdirection is corrected based on a detection result of the detectingunit.
 6. The conveying device according to claim 1, further comprising:a pair of carriage rollers configured to rotate to convey the recordingmedium while nipping the recording medium, the pair of carriage rollersbeing arranged in a position on a downstream side of the pair of firstnipping rollers in the conveying path, wherein the first nipping rollersare separable from each other so that a state of the pair of firstnipping rollers is switched between a state of nipping the recordingmedium and a state of not nipping the recording medium, and after thepositional deviation of the recording medium in the width direction iscorrected, the first nipping rollers are separated from each other notto nip the recording medium when the pair of carriage rollers nips therecording medium.
 7. The conveying device according to claim 1, whereina precision at which the pair of second nipping rollers is moved in thewidth direction based on the detection result of the detecting unit isset lower than a precision at which the pair of first nipping rollers ismoved in the width direction based on the detection result of thedetecting unit.
 8. The conveying device according to claim 1, whereinthe pair of first nipping rollers is arranged in a linear conveying pathhaving a linear shape along the conveying direction, and the pair ofsecond nipping rollers is arranged in a curved conveying path having acurved shape along the conveying direction or arranged near the curvedconveying path.
 9. The conveying device according to claim 8, whereinthe curved conveying path has a curvature radius of equal to or smallerthan 50 millimeters.
 10. An image forming apparatus comprising theconveying device according to claim
 1. 11. A conveying device forconveying a recording medium along a conveying path, the conveyingdevice comprising: a pair of first nipping rollers configured to bemovable in a width direction while nipping the recording medium, androtate to convey the recording medium; a pair of second nipping rollersconfigured to be movable in the width direction while nipping therecording medium, and rotate to convey the recording medium, the pair ofsecond nipping rollers being arranged on an upstream side of the firstnipping rollers in the conveying path; and a detecting unit configuredto detect an amount of positional deviation in the width direction ofthe recording medium being conveyed in the conveying path, the conveyingdevice is switched between a first operation and a second operationbased on a thickness of the recording medium, in the first operation,the pair of first nipping rollers and the pair of second nipping rollersbeing moved in the width direction based on a detection result of thedetecting unit while the pair of first nipping rollers and the pair ofsecond nipping rollers nip the recording medium, so that a positionaldeviation of the recording medium in the width direction is corrected,and in the second operation, the pair of first nipping rollers is movedin the width direction is moved based on the detection result of thedetecting unit while the pair of first nipping rollers nips therecording medium and the second nipping rollers are separated from eachother, so that the positional deviation of the recording medium in thewidth direction is corrected.
 12. The conveying device according toclaim 11, wherein the first operation is performed if the recordingmedium is thicker than a predetermined thickness, and the secondoperation is performed if the recording medium is equal to or thinnerthan the predetermined thickness.
 13. The conveying device according toclaim 11, wherein if the recording medium is shorter than a distance inthe conveying path between the pair of second nipping rollers and thepair of first nipping rollers, the second operation is performed. 14.The conveying device according to claim 11, further comprising: a pairof carriage rollers configured to rotate to convey the recording mediumwhile nipping the recording medium, and be separable from each other sothat a state of the pair of carriage rollers is switched between a stateof nipping the recording medium and a state of not nipping the recordingmedium, the pair of carriage rollers being arranged in at least one of aposition on an upstream side of the pair of second nipping rollers, aposition between the pair of second nipping rollers and the pair offirst nipping rollers, and a position on a downstream side of the pairof first nipping rollers, wherein the carriage rollers are separatedfrom each other not to nip the recording medium when the positionaldeviation of the recording medium in the width direction is corrected.15. The conveying device according to claim 11, further comprising: anabutting member configured to be movable so that a state of the abuttingmember is switched between a state in which the conveying path is closedand a state in which the conveying path is opened in a position near thepair of first nipping rollers on a downstream side of the pair of firstnipping rollers in the conveying path, wherein the first nipping rollersare separable from each other so that a state of the pair of firstnipping rollers is switched between a state of nipping the recordingmedium and a state of not nipping the recording medium, and before thepositional deviation of the recording medium in the width direction iscorrected, the abutting member is moved to close the conveying pathwhile the first nipping rollers are separated from each other not to nipthe recording medium, to cause a leading end of the recording medium tohalt against the abutting member so that at least one of a positionaldeviation of the recording medium in a conveying direction and apositional deviation of the recording medium diagonal with respect tothe conveying direction is corrected.
 16. The conveying device accordingto claim 11, wherein the detecting unit is arranged on a downstream sideof the pair of first nipping rollers in the conveying path, and thedetecting unit detects the amount of positional deviation in the widthdirection of the recording medium while the pair of first nippingrollers and the pair of second nipping rollers are being rotated toconvey the recording medium or while the pair of first nipping rollersis being rotated to convey the recording medium, so that the positionaldeviation of the recording medium in the width direction is correctedbased on a detection result of the detecting unit.
 17. The conveyingdevice according to claim 11, further comprising: a pair of carriagerollers configured to rotate to convey the recording medium whilenipping the recording medium, the pair of carriage rollers beingarranged in a position on a downstream side of the pair of first nippingrollers in the conveying path, wherein the first nipping rollers areseparable from each other so that a state of the pair of first nippingrollers is switched between a state of nipping the recording medium anda state of not nipping the recording medium, and after the positionaldeviation of the recording medium in the width direction is corrected,the first nipping rollers are separated from each other not to nip therecording medium when the pair of carriage rollers nips the recordingmedium.
 18. The conveying device according to claim 11, wherein the pairof first nipping rollers is arranged in a linear conveying path having alinear shape along the conveying direction, and the pair of secondnipping rollers is arranged in a curved conveying path having a curvedshape along the conveying direction or arranged near the curvedconveying path.
 19. The conveying device according to claim 18, whereinthe curved conveying path has a curvature radius of equal to or smallerthan 50 millimeters.
 20. An image forming apparatus comprising theconveying device according to claim 11.